More User Reviews:

Thanks to Exiled for sharing this bottle. From the Wilmington, DE location.

The beer pours a hazy brown-orange color with a white head. The aroma is very tart. I get a ton of tart cherries and a little bit of malt.

The flavor is also very nice. There is some cherry and oak notes, along with a tad bit of sweetness from the cherries. The thing that stand out is the extreme sourness. The beer is very puckering and makes your mouth water after every sip. The beer gets more and more sour as it warms.

Finally getting around to popping a 375ml bottle of this after picking it up at Iron Hill, Media, last summer. I've already had the Framboise, which I enjoyed, and figured it was about time to put this away.

Appearance- Pours a very nice shade of translucent strawberry-pinkish. I'm careful not to agitate the yeast out of the bottom of the bottle this time through, as I had some serious stomach issues after drinking the yeast out of the last bottle. A thin sheeting of white head appears across the top of the beer after an aggressive pour. A surprising amount of beading carbonation in the body of the beer, with a very small amount of lacing.

Smell- Wow, quite a bit going on here. I'm not sure what I noticed quite first, but there is a huge amount of lactic sour cherry tartness and barnyard funk mixed together on the nose here. Lots of wild yeast and bacteria very evident even from the smell on this one.

Taste- Here the order of things is a bit more evident. Starts off with big notes of tart sour cherries and oak. Followed up with the barnyard funk that was very present in the nose but a little bit milder here. Closes with a long, drying sour finish.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability- Mouthfeel is thin as per the style but not watery and with just enough carbonation. Drinkability is pretty good as well despite the acidic tartness. Flavors are complex and well blended with a nice finish to keep you drinking.

Overall, a very solid shot at a kriek by Iron Hill. More impressed with this and the framboise than I was initially expecting. Give it a try if you get the chance.

Picked up this bottle on my last trip out there...looked interesting enough. 375ml bottle served in a Stone Levitation flute...

A - pours with about an eighth inch of sudsy loose foam, very light pink in color. settles within a couple minutes to a thin film. the beer is hazy, ruby grapefruit in color.

S - very vinegary, with some musty basement before a lightly sweet layer of sour cherries joins in. a super sharp piercing sourness cuts through every whiff. pleasant.

T - starts off with juicy cherries and raspberries on top of wet oak...lingering vanilla like sweetness and a sharp citric almost lemon-like acidity.

M - weak point here, the cork was hard to get out but barely yielded a healthy "pop" from carbonation...there barely is any. quite a shame, as it would really liven up and cut into the intense sourness. finishes dry.

D - a solid attempt gone a little awry. this is insanely sour, even coming from someone who could eat sour patch kids for breakfast. hurt by a struggling mouthfeel and could use a little more subtlety.

A 750 mL corked and caged bottle that misspells the word kriek. Purchased at the Wilmington location last December (2008).

A: The ale has the sickly red look of many kriek beers, sitting in my glass like a snifter of Snapple Strawberry Kiwi. The bottle opened without much of a pop and didn't generate much head on pour. No lacing whatsoever.

S: The nose is tart, loaded with dirty horseblanket funkiness. The wildness is evident, quite intense. Cherry and oak are strong. The cherry is sour and mildly sweet; the oak adds vanilla.

T: The ale is a surprise. The first sip throws a wickedly bone dry feel at me, leaving my palate numb for a few seconds. Each sip is like this? It's gonna take some time to get through this bottle! Cherry is evident, sour with just enough sweetness to peek through. Vanilla springs from the oak, a pleasant counterpoint to the tartness. The tartness is acetic, vinegary at times, and acidic, high in the pucker factor. The two, in tandem, are a powerful one-two punch. As the ale warms, the cherry sweetness strengthens. It never losses its sour edge, but the juiciness cuts through the tartness of the little buggers in the barrel. A top-notch wild ale.

M: The mouthfeel is tart, beware because it is sharper than it smells. The vanilla, cherry, and acidic tartness are all flavors that stand out as you cycle through the glass. An excellent ale.

D: Tough to stop throwing superlatives at this beer. The tartness is strong, overpowering even, with dryness that forces me to take another sip. I'm happy to oblige.

Edit: The last 1/5th of the bottle is a sludgy morass of ale and yeast. It pours pulpy and thick, like a glass of yoo-hoo. Of course I am drinking it and of course it doesn't impact the taste but it is a visually unappealing ending to the ale. Appearance dropped from 3.5 to 2.5, blecch. The floaties are evident as I drink the ale. They don't impact the taste but add sediment to the body. Drop mouthfeel from 4.5 to 3.5,

Got this one a while back from boatshoes... Thanks Fletcher!! Awesome Trade!!! Reviewed from notes.

Almost no pop on the cork... still there was plenty of carbonation. Hazy orange with pink tinges and foamy white head that disappeared quickly.

Nose is big and funky .. moldy... cheesy... and plenty fruity...

Flavor is punctuated by a very dry saliva sucking puckery sour punch.. like cherry pie (complete with vanilla) essence drenched in funk... woody sorta tannic element.. sweetness mid palate helps the fruit flavor blossum.. a bit of vinegar .. pretty dry on the finish.. I love the Cantillon Kriek.. but I would love more of these to hang on to and break out with the boys.

thrilled to finally open this one as i pop the cork it almost takes a light out so i know it is still very much alive. poured into a tulip and enjoyed on 5.13.11

he pour was nice enough, light pink tint to a very cloudy and sediment filled golden liquid. Smooth head of white came up over the top and settled down slowly but finally left the top bare. The aroma was light raspberries, hints of oak, and only a touch of sour. but as it warms it really starts to come into its own. really sour and tart aroma and flavors, still loaded with fruit tones and rich raspberries. light and clean finish. tart and dry it begs you to come back for more.

overall a simply fantasitc beer that just looks like it will never get around.

thanks to egajdzis...Appears a cloudy, light orange with a small white head that quickly fades into a mild collar. Scattered bits of lacing are left around the glass.Smell is of vanilla, funk, plastic esters, bandaids, and tart apples.Taste is of the aromas with citrus, funk, and hints of demerara sugar, and tang.Mouthfeel is medium bodied, acidic, vinegar-like, with a weird sweet tart.

Dark pale red without much carbonation. The slightest amount of brett in the aroma and a strong vinegar smell. There really isn't many cherries to be found. It's like a sweaty sock filled with blue cheese and dipped in acetone. Taste is highly acidic and vinegary. Acetobacter is taking over this one like the framboise but it's not as overwhelming. This one is a little more drinkable but I'm having some trouble finding the cherries.

Bottle from awesome girlfriend, from Wilmington location.Pours a very cloudy auburn color. Looked just like apple cider.Looks nice... I love my IKEA bourbon glass... dump the entire thing in it with little head... no lacing...Actually smells like a turned Apple cider... not bad though.... sour and vinegar is strong.taste is very tart, not as tart as a cascade kriek, but still. Damn tart. cherries are present, and to be honest, the mouthful is fantastic. the carbonation, while lacking in the glass, is perfect on the palate. the mouthful is fantastic. this, while not the best tasting, is one of the best overall... well done.

Pours a dark pink color, maybe red, with a light pink head. A bit acetic for a kriek, but there is some cherry in there and a fair amount of lactic acid. Not terribly complex, but decent. The flavor is also quite heavy on the vinegar and lactic acid making this a rather intense drinking experience. Some cherry flavor and a bit of lemon peel.

Appearance: Cloudy rust colored with a moderate head that soon fades to a ringlet but leaves some dots of lace around the glass

Smell: Pungent aroma of sour cherry, balsa wood, pear, tart lemon and plenty of barnyard funk; it tingles the nostrils, it is so powerful

Taste: From the outset, the tastebuds tingle with the sour cherry/pear nectar fruit; as the liquid lingers on the tongue, the sour elements are joined by subtle undertones of wheat and balsa wood; after the swallow, the lemony tartness kicks up another notch, only to be joined by a cheesy sense of barnyard funk on the finish

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with moderate carbonation, but an odd powdery thickness of some particles in suspension

Drinkability: Not a beer to be drunk in quantity, it is nevertheless a real accomplishment in a style that few brewers undertake

Thanks to RiekerStarBrew for sharing this at his recent sour tasting- poured from the bottle into a goblet.

The color is a hazed rosy shade with deep red accents, plenty of yeast gives a creamy appearance. The cap is thin cream color. The smell is fruity with lots of cherry tart scents, very floral almost vanilla influenced from the wood with oak and mild lemony sour accent in the aroma. The feel is pretty darn sour and yeasty with mild tangy lactic influence and gentle woody texture with moderate carbonation and light sweetness.

The taste is very full of fruit with a slightly acidic taste, mild vinegar tinges with slight tannic tart cherry skin and mild lactic sharpness, almost worcestershire like with the sweet and woody character in the finish. The beer is very unique, lots of sourness with a little fruitiness, could use a tad sweet to counter the tart cherry but expressive and shows the wood aging well.

A: clear copper colorS: tart, traditional kriek, not as sour as some of the sourest BelgiansT: holy smoke!, is this baby tart, tart, effervescent, and definitely oak aged cherry notes, not as balanced as some of the better Belgians, but still very good, a bit musty in the finish (oak?)M: refreshing, dances on the tongueD: a bit cloying in the finish, but overall a good American attempt at a true Belgian style

Bottle from the Wilmington location. Pours a really clear rose with a thin white head, great lacing. A looker. Pretty wild nose with sour cherries, brett, some vinegar must, and a higher lactic sourness. Really soft in the mouth. Quite sour, cherries and strawberries. Vinegar touch is somewhat off-putting, but not nearly as bad as with the Lambic de Hill. Nicely done, but I just cannot get into the vinegar profile in this. Others may dig it more.

I'll be curious to compare this Wilmington take on the style with the one from Media.A solid pour into my large Tripel Karmeliet glass produces a fizzy, initially one-finger thick, pale pink tinged, off white colored head. The beer has a red tinged, amber color to it that shows a pretty clear, red-copper color to it when held up to the light. As I pour this beer I smell notes of tart cherries. A deeper inspection of the nose yields a substantial sourness to this beer, as well as a touch of phenolic, almost acetone like note towards the finish, a background ripe cheese / moldy cloth and musky Brettanomyces signature. The dominant sour and funk aromatics tend to drown out the more delicate cherry aromas, but they are able to peek through from time to time to provide a bit of cherry fruitiness to the nose.

The taste is quite tart tasting, it is not as bone dry as I was expecting though, there is a very subtle, soft sweetness to this that accentuates a soft cherry flavor towards the middle. The touch of sweetness and the cherry notes combine with some funkiness to provide a flavor that is somewhat reminiscent of children's aspirin. This has a fair amount of body to it as well, it has a certain soft creamy texture to it that is cut a little bit by a prickly carbonation. I like the sweet / tart balance here, the acidity definitely wins out; without the sweetness the very subtle cherry flavors might have been lost among the more prominent lactic acidity. As my palate gets used to the beer I am able to notice the cherry flavors much more prominently (the sweetness becomes more pronounced too); tart with a cherry medicine like flavor as well as light cherry juice flavor. The cherry notes seem to be lacking a tannic backbone that I like in a Kriek; I wonder if whole fruit was used and if it is from a sour cherry varietal as that might make some difference or maybe this just didn't come through. Ether way this is missing that teeth coating tannic character. There is an oral-nasal note of phenolics here that sort of lightly spices the flavor, but this isn't the most funky of Lambics. Nor is it tame though, there is a touch of acetic acid character here that adds a bite lacking from the lactic acidity.

The warming of this beer also accentuates the cherry and acetic acidity more in the nose, providing a cherry-vinegar touch to the nose that is definitely pleasant. This quite good, it is perhaps a little thick bodied and with a touch too much sweetness to be fantastic, but damn is it good and I am quite happy with this interpretation.

Poured a translucent copper with a pink undertone going on. Head was very VERY light pink, nearly white and pretty thin.

Aroma was of sour cherry, oak, and some heavy barnyard funk going on.

Taste is a tart and sour cherry and follows up with the nose with an oak and barnyard funk. Some vanilla sneaks it way in on latter sips. Rather dry. I feel a hangover coming on tomorrow with this one.

Pretty solid lambic. Have had better and worse. The bottle was over $20 and at the brewpub only, which is what I would pay at the store for some Cantillion so I don't think I'll be buying it again.

A - This one has a lot of differences as far as appearance goes. First two pours are a clear amber color. No head, no lacing. Subsequent pours start to get cloudy with sediment. This was after I let it sit for about 20 mins. Last 4 ounces looked like tomato juice. Kinda turned off by the looks.

S - Vinegar and sour cherries. Smell quite a bit of the oak. Decent amount of funk as well. Very nice smell.

T - First pour was very tart and crisp. A bit like smarties. Sour cherries and bite the tongue. Nice funky finish with a bit of acidity. Towards the end of the bottle, you get much less sour character and more of just a cherry juice.

M - Kinda thin with very little carbonation. Kinda thought that might be the case with the lack of head. Subsequent pours thicken things up, but just because there is so much sediment.

O - This could be a really good beer, and I could deal with a bit of sediment. Problem is, out of a 25oz bottle, you maybe only get 18oz of a clean pour. Just too much stuff left in the bottle. Also, at $25.00 a bottle, not really sure it's worth it.